Unstoppable (Their Shifter Academy #6) - May Dawson Page 0,38

saw an old friend wearing an Establishment magicians uniform right before I jumped from the train. He grew up in the orphanage with me and we were, ah, rescued by the Rebel Magicians together, so we have all the same training. He doesn’t know my mission, but he does know my ways, and I knew he’d track me through the woods if I didn’t double back.”

“How did he recognize you?” I demanded.

“Hold on,” Rafe said, holding up his hand. “First I want to know why you didn’t just tell me that, Silas.” He paused, just for a second. “Then I want to know how he recognized you through….this.” He gestured at Echo’s grim face.

“It would have taken too long to track you down and go back. I figured they’d have something like blazers on the train that they could use, and we were moving on foot,” Silas said reasonably—so reasonably that it made me suspicious. “And he didn’t even see my face. He could recognize me because he knows my magic, very well. We were roommates from practically the day our parents gave us up.”

“What did you do after you doubled back?” Jensen asked quietly, his arms folded over his chest. He was watching Silas with kindness in his golden eyes.

Silas looked abashed, which I didn’t expect from him. “I stole the snowblazers and left them. I should have killed them, that would have been the practical thing.”

Rafe nodded, his face expressionless. “I see.”

Silas glanced at the three of us, obviously feeling judged. But I knew that Silas only killed when he felt he had to; he felt who ended up on which side was a precarious game of luck. We were all willing to kill to protect our little family and the universe beyond; we all had.

None of us wanted Silas to be hurt, though.

“We need to get the shield and get out of here, because eventually, they will track us down again,” Silas said.

“We will,” Rafe said. He glanced out the windows at the sky just beginning to brighten. “Everyone get some rest. It’s been a long day, and we need to wait until the museum opens to do our recon. We’ve got a few hours. I’ll take first watch.”

I tried to settle down to sleep, but I couldn’t; I kept sneezing in the dusty lofted space. At first, I was curled up against Jensen’s shoulder as usual, but eventually, he rolled away and cocked his arm over his face, using his big bicep to cover his eyes. I rolled onto my side too, pressing my butt against the athletic curve of his ass; we slept this way occasionally too, but right now I felt like he was annoyed at me for sneezing, which was hardly fair. I desperately wanted to be asleep too.

Then, even though he’d teased me, he started snoring. I was finally drifting off until he began, and I rose onto my elbows, staring at him. I glanced over at Silas, wishing I could use a sleeping spell, but that hardly seemed a good idea when we were being hunted by his ex-bestie. His handsome face was still in sleep, his pale lashes resting above his chiseled cheekbones, and I wouldn’t disturb his peace. Silas had little enough of that.

These men all took turns being my favorite, and since he wasn’t snoring, he was my current favorite.

I started to shift toward the end of the bed, thinking I’d relieve Rafe from the watch so he could get some rest. As soon as I did, Jensen reached for me; I wasn’t sure he was even fully awake as he grabbed my wrist and towed me against his body, snuggling me into all that hard, ropy muscle. “Where are you going?” he murmured huskily.

“I’m only staying if you promise to stop snoring.”

He blinked golden eyes, a little less sleepily now and more annoyed. “I don’t snore.”

I scoffed. “Tell that to my right eardrum, which is still ringing.”

He didn’t usually snore, but the dust in the house had bothered all of us.

“Is that why you moved over to Silas’s side of the bed?”

“You moved over first!”

“You kept sneezing.”

“This is the stupidest fight the two of you have ever had.” Rafe’s voice floated up even though he was unseen in the downstairs part of the house. “And for the two of you, that’s really saying something.”

Usually, Jensen and I would’ve shared a look over whatever Rafe was scolding us about, but this time he just closed his eyes as